momofuku seiobo - the star, pyrmont

david chang knows how make a city feel loved. when chang announced that sydney was to be the first town outside of new york state to be colonised by the momofuku empire, sydney cemented its place in the mind of culinary cartographers. michellin stars may remain elusive to us, but the star's momofuku seiōbo has certainly made sydney feel delicious in a world class way.

the room has a definite cool, crispness to it. black walls and floors, and black shutters along the windowed-side of the restaurant striating the neon pink glow seeping from adrian zumbo's deserteria across the casino's corridor. thankfully, once inside momofuku seiōbo, the reality that we're inside a casino is lost, like too many pennies on the pokies. our focus is drawn instead to the central spotlighted kitchen island (where i’m hoping to be shipwrecked one day) housing a hive of chefs busy in the midst of the dinner buzz. 

the gazillion-course tasting menu ($175 pp) is the one and only option. no qualms there. i'm an excited child boarding a gastronomic rollercoaster, ready to have my tongue and mind flipped and dazzled by the chefs' tricks and turns. the drawcard for this ride was indeed the famous pork bun which hits the table circa course three. my mum had the enviable experience of demolishing one or two of these suckers at momofuku noodle bar in nyc last year and i have been dreaming of following in her footsteps ever since. (see mum, i do wanna grow up just like you!) the bun lives up to the hype.  a tender piece of pork belly is cushioned between the white, soft steamed bun, which is a revelation in its own right. inside is a drizzling of sweet and tangy hoisin sauce, sliced cucumbers and spring onions. it does things to my mouth that i didn’t think were possible. 

steamed bun w/ pork, cucumber, hoisin

 the seiōbo team present innovative assemblies of ingredients in every single dish. and the execution is impeccable. congee with serrano ham is aesthetically awesome. a glazed sheet of egg yolk straddles the teensy doughnuts, bobbing in hammed-up chinese porridge. a list of the bare ingredients sounds like an ad-hoc breakfast gone wrong but it’s freakin’ delicious! the dish is well-seasoned (for some too much so), and the textures interact with affable ease.

mud crab with yorkshire pudding is better than a british sunday by the sea. the sweet, shredded crustacean, mixed with a chilli curry sauce, languishes next to a proudly weightless pudding that melts away in my mouth, leaving a pleasantness like a sun tan’s glow.

mud crab w/ old bay, yorkshire pudding

pink snapper w/ periwinkle, chrysanthemum

 the steamed pink snapper is the most perfectly cooked piece of fish i’ve encountered. i offer this assertion to the table and am met with eyes-rolled-back groans which seem to imply agreement. the medallion of fish is crowned with shaved periwinkles which smell intensely of the sea, but the taste is more subtle and beautifully complements the fish and the balancing bitterness of fresh and wilted chrysanthemum.

the menu is predominantly seafood and in true aussie fashion, it’s the swimmers who continue to take gold. a gorgeous hunk of marron wears streamers of pickled rhubarb and comes with burnt eggplant puree. the three bits fit together like a tasty tessellation and has us cooing.

marron w/ burnt eggplant, rhubarb

 refusing to buck the trend of the previous umpteen dishes, the cheese course is unlike any other i’ve encountered. a pile of shaved c2 cheese from tasmania glides amongst gelatinous cubes of apple cider. a dainty film of star anise-speckled honeycomb floats atop the cheese shavings. the dish is a playful presentation of top-shelf ingredients with a new and wondrous result.

c2 w/ honey licorice, bee pollen

beef w/ radish, fermented black bean

bite after bite, course after course, the deliciousness is disseminated with vigour. but not everything’s out of this world. casting potato as the protagonist in two dishes puzzled more than pleased some of our party (not me, i couldn’t get enough of them both!) and an unbelievable wagyu with fermented black bean was perhaps upstaged by overly generous radish shavings. also, the beef cheek – which is by far the best specimen of this cut-of-the-moment that i’ve had – is intended to be eaten with fork and dagger! oh, wait, that’s awesome.

beef w/ cucumber and artichoke

i struggle to put into words, my feelings about seiōbo's finale. pork to me is something very special. i’d read about it at length and the anticipation of what was about to come shook me to my (very full) core, and manifested itself in boasting fb posts, before and after the fact. the last dish (post-dessert and -cheese): a plate of slow-cooked pork shoulder, caramelised with brown sugar, with crisp caramelised pieces of pork skin on top. to be eaten with your hands. orgasmic to the point of stimulated contractions.

uh, maybe it would have been best if i hadn't put it into words..... 

slow cooked pork shoulder 

three hours later, with the kitchen closing up, i pinch myself as we re-enter earth’s orbit. i'm still breathless at the marvels we've experienced. the seiōbo team take new, local ingredients, frequently brushed aside (or unheard of) by so many other chefs, and cast them in a starring role. chang’s crew also transforms and revolutionises the use and presentation of other more commonly used ingredients. when i summarily recall this degustation, the foremost description is, "that shit cray!" closely followed by "yummm!" each plate took me into a new gastronomic galaxy, generating a rush of g-forced adrenaline, pleasure and a touch of enlightenment. skip the roulette table and save your pennies for an interstellar journey, worthy of stars, hats and everything in between.